Unit for a heating floor



July 16, 1957 c. H. BECKER UNIT FOR A HEATING moon Fiia July 29, 1953INVENTORY @ZiwikZ r ATTORNE BY Mn,

United Sttes Patent UNIT FOR A HEATENGFLOGR Charles H. Becker, Ironwood,Mich.

Application July 29, 1953, Serial No. 370,912

6-Claims. (Cl; 257-124) This invention relates to a unit for a heatingfloor. and more particularly to a heating floor unit equipped with meansfor supporting heating coils. The invention is particularly useful inproviding a heated floor for a house trailer, truck trailers,automobiles, etc. The invention is, however, also useful in connectionwith other platformsor floor structures. The present application is acontinuation-in-part of my co-pending application Serial No. 340,080 forHeating Floor Unit filed March 3, 1953.

In heating floors such as for example those used in house trailers,provision is made for the flow of heating fluid which in its path ofcirculation transfers heat to the floor and therebyheatsthe floor andthe space thereabove. Desirably, the hot water or other heating fluidcirculates through conduits carried by the floor. Although such conduitshave relatively long life, they do at times require. servicing and it isdesirable to make the conduits accessible. Further, in installation, theconduits are spaced apart throughout the floor and must beinterconnected and therefore accessibility and convenience of location.is also advantageous at this time. The floor structure provided,however, must be substantially flat and the supported heat conduitscannot then be supported so as to oifer obstructions, etc. that wouldmake the floor or platform uneven. At the same time the conduits thatcarry the heating fluid must be positioned so that good thermalconductivity with the floor is provided.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a heating floorstructure having the attributes indicated above as being desirable.Another object of the. invention is to provide a unit for a heatingfloor which may be secured readily within a house trailer or otherstructure while effectively supporting heating coils to bring about aheat transfer to the top surface of the. floor. Still another object isin the provision of a heating floor unit wherein accessibility of theheating conduits carried thereby is assured and at the same time thefloor or platform is substantially flat. A further object is inproviding a unit fora heating floor that carries a depending channelaccessible from the top surface of the floor and that is suitable forcarrying a heating conduit. Yet a further object is to provide anextruded floor structure which. may be produced at low cost whileproviding support means for heating conduits; accessibility beingprovided to the conduits through a removable cover panel that forms withthe top surface of the unit a substantially flat platform surface.Additional objects and advantages will appear as the specificationproceeds.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing in which Figure 1 is a broken perspective view of a plurality offloor units joined together and that embody my invention; Figure 2 is anend view in elevation of a heating floor unit embodying my invention andin which the cover panel is shown in an intermediate position; andFigure 3 is a transverse sectional view of a heating, floor unitembodying the invention.

In theillustration given in Figs. 1 through 3 I provide a heating floorunit or section that is designated generally with-the numeral 10. In theillustration of Fig. 1 three of the sections 10 are joined together toprovide a floor or platform in a manner that will be subsequentlydescribed. Each of the units 10 provides a top platform or panel portion11. I prefer to form the section 10 by extrusion, although it will beapparent that other means of formation may be used readily. Further, Iprefer to form the units 10 from aluminum or aluminum alloys. Ifdesired, however, the units may be formed of other materials such asplastics or composition materials and further, if extrusion meansare-provided for forming the section the materials selected should bethose that may be effectively extruded to form a sturdy unit.

The top platform or panel portion 11 is provided along each side withthickened areas or depending ribs 12. Also, theunits 10- are equippedwith reinforcing beams 13 of relatively small depth. The beams 13 may bespaced as required and preferably extend longitudinally of the unit 10.

Integrally formed with the top platform 11 along one side thereof is anend wall or beam 14 of substantially greater depth than the beams 13.The wall 14 is equipped with a laterally or inwardly-turned horizontalbrace 15' having reinforcing flanges 16 and 17 formed integrallytherewith. The wall 14 is also provided with an outwardly projectingledge or tongue 18 that is preferably positioned adjacent the lowersurface of the thickened area 12.

Along the opposite side of the unit 10 is a depending wall or beam 19that is enlarged at the top end 20 thereof and provides a groove orsocket 21 therein. The wall 19 is also equipped with aninwardly-extending brace 15 and flanges 16 and 17. Preferably, the wall19 is formed integrally with the top panel 11 and the recess 21 extendslongitudinally thereof. It will be noted in Figs. 2 and 3 that thegroove or recess 21 tapers inwardly to reduced cross section and thetongue 18 on the opposite wall 14 also tapers outwardly. The tongue 18is adapted to he received within the groove 21.

In the formation of a floor structure or platform such as the oneindicated in Fig. 1 a plurality of the units 10' are brought together sothat the tongue 18 provided by each unit is received within the socket21 provided by the adjacent unit. The tongue 18 and socket 21 provide aninterlock that securely joins the individual units 16 together. Theunits 10 forming the floor structure may be supported in any suitablemanner and, for example, reference may be made to my pending SerialNumber 340,080 for a specific example of a support structure and meansthat may be employed.

The unit 10 is equipped centrally with a depending generally U-shapedchannel or passage 22 having along the lower surface thereof areinforcing r1b 23 with an enlarged lower portion 24. Preferably, thewalls of the U-shaped channel member 22 depend from the offset portions25a and 25b of the top panel 11. These offset portions 25a and 25bprovide horizontal shoulders 26 and 27 that support thereon a removablecover or panel 28. As is clear from Figs. 2 and 3, the cover panel 28 isprovided along one longitudinal edge thereof with an inclined or taperededge portion that is received within a tapered or undercut portion 29provided between the shoulder 25a and top surface of the panel 1 .1. Thetapered edge provided by the removable cover is designated as thenumeral 30. On the opposite side thereof the cover panel 28 rests uponthe shoulder 27 and, if desired, cap screws 31 extending through thecover panel and threadedly received within the undercut portion 25b maybe provided for rigidly securing the cover plate in position upon theshoulders. The cover plate 28 is enlarged centrally at 32 and theundersurface of the enlarged portion 32 has an arcuate recess 33 thereinas is seen best in Fig. 2. The recess 33 extends longitudinally of'thecover plate 28 and is centrally positioned along the undersurfacethereof. The U-shaped channel member 22 extends longitudinally of theunit and it provides with the cover plate 28 a compartment or receptacle34 adapted to receive a conduit or heating coil 35 therein. As is clearin the drawing, the conduit 35 is snugly received within the walls ofthe U-shaped channel member 22 and snugly engages the longitudinalrecess 33 provided in the cover panel 28.

. As is seen in Figure 1, each of the sections or units 10 is providedwith a depending channel member 22 and each of the channel memberssupports'an elongated conduit or heating tube 35 therein. The tubes 35are adapted to have circulating therethrough a heating fluid such as hotwater or steam, etc. To accomplish this result it is necessary that thetubes 35 be interconnected and the interconnection between the tubes isaccomplished by providing arcuate connecting sections or elbows at theends of the tubes. It will be clear that the hot heating fiuid flowingfrom the heater will enter the tubes at at least one section and will bereturned to the heater after having circulated through the variousconduits. If it is desired to refer to a specific example of the tubularheating coils when connected, reference may be made to my Patent No.2,483,721.

In operation of the structure a plurality of units 10 are joinedtogether to provide a continuous platform or floor such as thatillustrated in Fig. 1. Any number of units 10 may be combined to form afloor of required size. In each case the projecting tongue 18 of oneunit will be received within the recess 21 of an adjacent unit. Theunits It may be supported within a house trailer or other structure inany suitable manner as has been heretofore brought out.

When the units 10 are appropriately supported in interlocking relationto provide the floor or platform, the covers 28 are removed and theconduits 35 placed within the depending U-shaped channel members 22. Inthis operation, it is unnecessary to thread or slide the elongated tubesinto position through a single opening and instead the tubes 35 may bepositioned easily and accurately by simply placing them within thechannels through the opening provided when the removable covers 28 havebeen lifted from the units. Thereafter the tubes are interconnected byelbows, etc. as required and then the covers 28 are placed in position.The undercut portion 29 and mating edge portion 30 operate to securelyhold the covers 23 in position upon the shoulders 26 and 27. if it isthought necessary, cap screws 31 may be used to securely tighten thecover members 28 downwardly upon the shoulders.

It will be appreciated that when it is necessary to service the tubes35, the covers 28 may be quickly and easily removed by simply removingthe cap screws 31 if they are used and then lifting the covers 28 fromposition to lay open the tubes 35 positioned therebelow.

It is apparent that the covers 28 provide with the top panels 11 asubstantially continuous and flat surface having no upward projectionsor obstructions that would interfere with the functioning of the units10 as desirable floors or platforms. At the same time, excellent heattransfer between the conduits 35 and U-shaped members 22 and top coverpanels 28 is provided in that the tubes are snugly received within thedepending members 22 and are in thermal contact therewith throughout asubstantial portion of their peripheries. At the same time a portion ofthe periphery of each tube is in thermal contact with the cover plate 28due to the abutment between the tube and the arcuate recess 33 providedby each cover plate. Thus the cover plates are readily heated as are thefloor areas thereabout by transfer of the heat through the walls of theU-shaped channel members 22 upwardly to the top panels 11.

It will be apparent that suitable insulation may be provided below andabout the U-shaped channel members 22 and further, reflecting materialsmay also be provided that are operative to reflect the heat from thechannel members 22 upwardly and toward the top panel 11. Preferably, theunits 10 are formed by extrusion and an integral unit may be provided bythis method.

While in the foregoing specification I have set out the embodiment ofthe invention in considerable detail for the purposes of illustration,it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that considerabledeviations from these details may be made without departing from thespirit and principles of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a heating floor unit, a top panel equipped with an integraldepending channel of generally U-shaped configuration, said channelhaving an open top and being adapted to receive a cylindrical tubetherein and to engage such tube over an extended surface area thereof,and a cover panel in covering relation with the open top of said channeland having an arcuate recess extending longitudinally therealong adaptedto tightly engage the surface of a tube positioned within said channelto constrain the tube against movement within said channel.

2. In a heating floor structure adapted for use in vehicles, a top panelprovided intermediate the ends thereof with an integral dependingchannel having an open top, and a cover panel carried by said top panelin covering relation over the open'top of said channel and forming acontinuation of said top panel, said channel having a semi-cylindricallower end portion and said cover panel having a recess in facingrelation therewith, the curvature of said recess being a continuation ofthe arc of said semi-cylindrical portion of the channel whereby aheating tube of cylindrical configuration received within said channeland having a diameter corresponding to that of said semi-cylindricalportion is rigidly constrained within said channel by said cover panel.

3. The structure of claim 2 in which said channel along the bottomthereof is equipped with an integral reinforcing rib extendinglongitudinally therealong.

4. The structure of claim 2 in which said top panel is provided with apair of offset inset shoulders, one along each edge of said channel, oneof said shoulders having an inwardly and upwardly inclined wall defining5. In a heating floor section having a generally planar top panel, saidtop panel being provided intermediate the ends thereof with an integraldepending channel adapted to receive a heating tube therein and havingan open top, said top panel being recessed along each edge of saidchannel to define shoulders spaced below the upper surface of the toppanel, an edge of one of said shoulders being inclined upwardly andinwardly thereby forming an undercut, a cover panel constructed anddimensioned to be supported upon said shoulders with the upper surfacethereof forming a continuation of said top panel, said cover panel alongone edge thereof having a tapered tongue receivable within said undercutwhereby the cover panel in closed position is constrained along one sideby said undercut, and means cooperat-- ing with said cover panel and theother of said shoulders for locking the cover panel in closed position.

6. The structure of claim 5 in which said channel has a semi-cylindricalconfiguration along the bottom portion thereof and in which said coverpanel has an arcuate recess along the underside thereof, said recess 5having the same radius as said semi-cylindrical configuration and thesame center, and a heating tube mounted within said channel and beingengaged over a substantial surface portion thereof by thesemi-cylindrical configuration'of said channel and by said arcuaterecess whereby said tube is clamped within said channel when the coveris closed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re.16,428 Russack Sept. 21, 1926 6 Miller Nov. 30, 1915 Brown Aug. 31, 1937Pointon et a1 Apr. 2, 1940 Booth Aug. 27, 1940 Kritzer Sept. 11, 1951FOREIGN PATENTS Australia Mar. 11, 1935 France Dec. 6, 1933 GreatBritain May 27, 1936

